Possible Origins of the Basque Language Unraveled by Ancient Bronze Hand

An inscription found on a 2,000-year-old metal needle may be written in a language related to modern-day Basque. If this interpretation is correct, it could help explain one of the biggest mysteries in linguistics: the origin of the Basque language.

However, other linguists say there is not enough evidence to link the inscription to Basque.

The bronze hand was discovered in July 2021 at the top of a hill called Irregui in the Pyrenees Mountains in northern Spain. Archaeologists have been excavating there since 2007, first discovering a medieval castle and then exploring a much older settlement from the Iron Age.

This settlement was founded between 1500 and 1000 BC. It was probably attacked by the Romans and abandoned in the 1st century BC.

Irreghi's hand is a bronze plate measuring 14 centimeters long, 12.8 centimeters wide, and only 0.1 centimeter thick, with a patina tint. On the back of the hand are his four lines of text, rewritten by first scratching and then dotting into the metal.

Most words cannot be associated with any known language, but the first word is “sorionek”. Matin Ayesteran Professors at the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain, and their colleagues claim it is similar to Basque. Zorio cat, which means “lucky.” Furthermore, the last word is “elaukon”, which is likened to a Basque verb. Zelaucon.

It is said that this hand was probably intended to represent good fortune or attract good fortune by appealing to the gods. Mikel Edeso Eguia in Aranzadi Scientific Society Assisted with excavations at Donostia (also known as San Sebastian), Spain.

The researchers also claim that the hand is evidence that languages ​​related to Basque have been spoken in northern Spain for 2,000 years. Most languages ​​currently spoken in Europe belong to the Indo-European family, but Basque does not. “It has nothing to do with any other language we know,” says Edeso Eguia. Previous research has tentatively linked the Basques to a group of people known as the Bascons, who lived in the Pyrenees according to classical sources.

However, the idea that the inscriptions on the hands are written in a language related to Basque is not widely accepted.After the hand was first described in his 2022 book, linguists Celine Munour at the University of Pau and the Adour region in France. Julen Manterola Presented at the Basque University of Vitoria-Gasteiz Criticism.

“There's not enough evidence,” Manterola said. This is also because there are very few words in the hands of the Irregian language. Not enough, he says, to properly compare with known languages.

Furthermore, the connection with the Basque language is based almost exclusively on the similarity between “sorionek” and “solionek”. Zorio cat. “You can't connect other words with historical Basque,” ​​Munor says.

Even that similarity can be misleading, Manterola says. Similar phrases in Basque have changed in predictable ways over the centuries, arriving at their current form. Zorio catmust have taken a completely different path.

“We expect more inscriptions to emerge,” Munour says. “In this case, we will be able to learn more about the possible relationship between this language and the Basque language.”